Despite securing a domestic treble last season, Man City’s relentless pursuit of trophies will continue as they look to strengthen their squad further this summer.
Pep Guardiola has enjoyed a trophy-laden stint at the Etihad over the past two years, but the Champions League continues to elude him as he hopes that they can end their wait for Europe’s biggest prize next season.
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While replacing former defensive stalwart Vincent Kompany will surely be one of his priorities this summer, lessening the load on another veteran is seemingly also on the agenda ahead of the new campaign.
Fernandinho turned 34 last month and made 42 appearances across all competitions last season as he continues to carry a heavy workload for the reigning Premier League champions.
With that in mind, ESPN note that Man City are ready to take action to ease the responsibility on his shoulders as they are looking to break the club’s transfer record with the £63m signing of Rodri from Atletico Madrid next week.
It’s added that the 23-year-old has accepted City’s offer while the fee above exercises his release clause, and so his transfer fee will surpass the £60m spent on Riyad Mahrez last year.
That’s a lot of money to be splashing out on one player, but if Guardiola’s track record in Manchester is anything to go by, it should be another crucial addition to an already brilliant squad.
The Spanish tactician hasn’t got much wrong in terms of recruitment at the club, as he has successfully built a squad full of quality and depth.
Further, he has bought a lot of young players who continue to improve, develop and mature under his stewardship, and they’ll certainly be hoping that Rodri follows that trend as he has undoubtedly impressed in the Spanish capital to this point and looks an ideal fit for Guardiola’s style of play and system.
